Where there is love there is life
by Evil Incorporated
Summary: While patrolling one night Connor finds a young blonde girl but there is something about him that attracts him to her. But when Connor finds out who and what she is will he still love her? Will he stay with her or follow his father’s advice and let her g
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer:_** _Do I own Buffy or Angel? No I don't, which is a shame...  
**Author:**_ _Flaire Delacour with Faith  
**Title:**_ _Where there is love there is life_  
_**Spoilers: **none…aside from the end of season seven.  
**Couples:** Connor/OC, Angel/Cordy, Fred/Gunn, Spuffy and others in season 7 Buffy  
**Summary: **While patrolling one night Connor finds a young blonde girl but there is something about him that attracts him to her. But when Connor finds out who and what she is will he still love her? Will he stay with her or follow his father's advice and let her go?_

It had been a long night of Patrolling for the young man often referred to as the destroyer, though it had been one of the very rare times that his father would let him out of the Hotel the two males called home.

On his Patrols he would think about everything he had come through with his father and the few members of what his Father would often refer to as his 'family' even though there was hardly anything between the six adults aside for a desire to do the right thing. Also he would think of his mother who he had never really gotten to know. All he knew about her was that she had been a pretty blonde, his Father's Sire and had staked herself in order to give him life. But that didn't stop Connor from wishing he'd known her or wishing that she were still alive to stop his Father being too over protective when it came to the fatherly act.

Connor walked down an Alley not far from the night Club that his father's friend Lorne ran, a crossbow in his hand that Holtz had given him before He'd been given back to the Vampire. He was dressed in leather which had become a bad habit the gang had got him into and it looked kind of odd that Angel also wore the same sort of outfit only the leather jacket Connor himself wore was a black short jacket not a long black leather duster.

He looked ahead and saw a young blonde girl who looked about a year younger than him walking in his direction; he quickly backed into the shadows a technique he'd slowly learnt from his vampire of a father.

His eyes took the girl's appearance in as she passed him and he felt a sense of longing and over protectiveness for her even though he didn't know who or what she was. Though there was a part of him that said she was no way just a human.

Her long blonde hair looked like it hadn't been brushed or washed for at least two weeks and her blue eyes were filled with panic and fright though cast down at the ground. Her body language screamed a poor scared girl from the way she crossed her arms to the slow pace that she walked at. She was dressed in a pair of old baggy muddy jeans that were frayed at the ends and would have fallen down her waist if it weren't for the belt holding them firmly in place around her hips. A thin black woolen top covered her top half and she was shivering in the cold as if she hadn't been inside since she was born. Her hands were shaking the most though and every so often the girl would take a glance at a hand, shudder and then turn her gaze back to the ground. A small old Backpack was on her back giving the teenager the impression that she didn't live anywhere around here.

Connor followed her in the shadows for a few blocks making sure she didn't spot him; he felt the need to silently protect her from Demons and other Vampires though the route she was taking she seemed to be able to avoid those alone.

He watched her stop in the middle of an Alley not far from the hotel building his father owned and backed into the shadows as he heard a soft whisper immerge from her lips.

It sounded steady yet there was a slight twinge of fright and the voice made the trained Warrior's heart melt.

"I know you're there. Show yourself."

Connor paused not knowing whether or not to reveal himself to her. She was fragile and timid and he didn't want to scare her if at all possible.

"Come on. Why have you been following me the last few blocks?" asked the girl turning around and looking his direction as if she knew where he was hiding.

Connor slowly immerged from the shadows and watched the girl's gaze immediately moved away from his face as though scared to look him in the eye.


	2. Chapter 2

Aurora had been pacing the town of LA for the past few weeks since she'd moved there from Long beach to get away from her stepfather and his new girlfriend after her mother had died. She'd only been stopping every so often and sleeping in doorways since she didn't have enough money to pay for a hotel let alone a motel room. Her stomach grumbled as she walked since she hadn't eaten in weeks and her body shook with the cold that passed through her thin shirt.

She'd felt the guy following her since not far from Caritas, but she had thought that she was just being paranoid and that at any moment he would take a different turn.

But he hadn't, she had seen him in the shadows and had managed to make out his features without him noticing.

He had dark brown hair with blue eyes that stood out on his pale features; there was something about him that comforted her from her trance like state but also something that scared her about the stranger too.

Aurora bit her lip as she stopped and gathered the courage to speak to him though her voice was shaking a little and quiet, like the last time she had spoken to her mother.

Connor walked slowly toward her and watched as the girl's eyes moved slowly up his body to his face and widen at the sight of him.

"Why were you following me?" asked the girl timidly.

"I thought you might need me." Said Connor with a shrug as he approached her.

"For what?" asked the girl biting her lip nervously.

Connor shrugged and saw her shiver, rubbing her upper arms against the cold.

"Are you OK?" asked Connor slowly approaching her.

"I'm just cold." Said the girl quietly, her gaze going back to look at the ground.

"Let's try this again. I'm Connor." Said Connor taking off his jacket.

"I'm Aurora." Smiled the girl letting Connor drape the jacket over her shoulders.

"You seem lost Aurora…. how long have you been in LA?" Asked Connor as he began to walk with her down the alley.

"Call me Aura…. I've been here a few weeks." Said Aurora putting her arms into the arms of his jacket and crossing her arms across her chest again to keep the jacket closed.

"Where are you staying?" asked Connor watching her movements.

"I've been sleeping in doorways…. I don't really know anyone here and I don't have enough money for a motel room." Said Aurora, her gaze straight ahead as though scared of what he would say.

"Its dangerous to stay out on the streets there is so many creeps out there. You could always come stay with me and my dad." offered Connor, the crossbow in his hand forgotten.

Aurora bit her lip and Connor could tell she didn't really know whether or not to trust him. After all they had only just met and there was no guarantee in her mind that he wasn't a serial killer.

"Look I promise you I'm not a serial psychopath or anything I just want to make sure your safe. The hotel I live in with my dad is just across the road. Why not come in and have some food? Then you can decide whether you want to stay with us or not." Said Connor putting his left arm around her waist as they walked to the end of the Alley.

"Ok. I'll come. I hope your dad won't mind." Said Aurora resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll understand." Assured Connor with a smile which seemed to be all the reassurance the girl needed to let him lead her toward the hotel.


	3. Chapter 3

Angel heard someone enter the hotel and looked up to see Connor in the doorway with his arm around a timid looking blonde girl who in a way reminded the vampire of Buffy when he'd first met her.

"So Connor care to introduce me to your friend?" asked the vampire as he put the book he'd been reading to one side.

He saw his son freeze at the sound of his voice as though he hadn't been expecting his father to be home so early from patrol with the others.

"Um Dad, this is Aurora…Aura this is my dad Angel. Why don't you go get a shower Aura? The bathroom's third door on the right on the first floor." Said Connor his gaze pinned on the blonde girl's face.

"Thanks Connor." Smiled Aurora lightly kissing his cheek before she left the vampire and his son alone.

Angel watched Connor watching Aurora walk up the stairs and crossed his arms though his expression changed from 'what the hell' to 'OK I want an explanation now'.

"Connor what is Aurora doing here?" asked Angel when his son's gaze finally moved back to him.

"Dad there is something about her…that attracted me to her, something supernatural…. I can't explain but I just couldn't help but feel the need to help her." Said Connor approaching his father.

"Have you seen her fight?" asked Angel curiously, explanations running through his head about what this could mean.

Connor frowned, obviously not understanding why his father was asking him that question but shook his head.

"Connor can you excuse me a sec, I just need to make a quick call." Said Angel before he disappeared into his office.

Connor frowned but sat on the main staircase, not far from the office's doorway so he could hear his father's conversation.

"Buffy …yeah its Angel…I know you told me not to call you unless all hell broke loose or another Apocalypse appeared but I think Connor's found a potential Slayer." Said Angel.

Connor felt his ears prickle. He'd found a slayer? Like that girl called Faith who had helped the other capture his father when he turned into his soulless counterpart? Many questions raced through his head that he knew he had to ask his father when Angel got off the phone.

"Yeah I know…. no that won't be necessary I'll get Connor to drive her to you…. yeah you can expect them there in about a month."

Silence.

"You can trust Connor…they already seem to have a bond…. besides with both their fighting skills nothing can stop them…. I promise he'll take care of her…He'll guard her with his life I promise…yeah OK I'll let you know."

More silence.

"Ok bye."

Connor got to his feet and moved away from the door before Angel came out.

Aurora came down the stairs dressed in a black shirt of Angel's she'd found in the bathroom, distracting the young warrior from the fight he was going to start with his Vampire of a father.

"I hope your father doesn't mind…but all the clothes I have are dirty and wrinkled." Said Aurora folding her arms across her chest.

"Of course not…do you dad?" asked Connor as Angel entered the lobby.

He watched the vampire freeze at the sight of the young girl in his shirt, his eyes glazed over with reminiscence as if he'd seen another girl dressed like that.

"No you can take it." Said Angel as he walked past the two teenagers to the kitchen.

"I'll take Aura up to my apartment but after I've settled her in we need to talk Dad." Said Connor going toward the blonde female and draping his arm around her shoulders.

Angel paused in the doorway to the kitchen, turned around and nodded at his son before he watched Aurora lean her head in the gap between Connor's chin and collarbone before the two walked up a set of stairway.

Angel walked into the kitchen for a mug of blood. He really needed to get his strength up before he and Connor had one of their usual Father and son arguments.

"…Like father like son." Sighed Angel before he went to the fridge and picked out a bag of pigs blood.


	4. Chapter 4

Connor led Aurora up to the second floor that he had renovated into a large apartment while Angel had kept him in the hotel for the past few months.

"Wow, this is so neat and tidy." Smiled Aurora as Connor let go of her.

"Thanks. My room's through there if you need to get some sleep. I'll take the couch." Said Connor.

"No I'll take the couch…this is your home." Said Aurora sitting on the long black leather couch that stretched out in front of the TV.

"I insist…. I need to talk to my dad." Said Connor watching Aurora curl up on the couch.

"Um Connor…" said Aurora as Connor turned to leave.

"Yes Aura?" asked Connor.

"Could you bring up my stuff from the bathroom on the first floor when you come back up? I stupidly forgot to bring them," said Aurora.

"Sure. Now you get some rest. I'll be back before you know it." Assured Connor kissing her on the forehead before leaving the apartment leaving Aurora to curl up on the couch and go to sleep.

Connor arrived in the lobby to see his dad sat in a seat sipping a mug of blood occasionally muttering to himself as he waited for him to come back.

"Dad why do you want me to drive Aura to Cleveland? Why can't she stay here with us?" asked Connor as he sat down beside his father.

"She can't Connor she doesn't belong here with us. And besides my friend Buffy had some Idea of why you were attracted to her." Said Angel putting his cup to one side.

"You think Aura is a slayer? You should have seen her when I first met her dad she was a wreck…she'd been living on the street for the past few weeks, she looked like she was scared of her own shadow. How can she be a slayer?" asked Connor.

"There is no one special type of person that can make a slayer Connor. Its the training that they under take that makes them who they are. That is why you need to take Aurora to Cleveland to be trained by Buffy, Faith and Buffy's ex watcher Giles." Said Angel.

"What about Wesley…? Can't he train Aura?" asked Connor.

"No…. Wes doesn't do that anymore…. not after what happened when he tried to train Buffy and Faith. He gave that up long ago Connor and don't bother to ask him. Just take Aura to Cleveland. If you want you can stay with her until she is settled in but that's it. After that you have nothing more to do with her." Said Angel.

Connor shook his head but saw that what Angel was saying was more of an order than a suggestion.

Angel's expression softened when he saw the expression on his son's face about possibly never seeing Aurora again.

"It's hard to let someone you have feelings for go Connor but it's for the best. I'm sure when the time is right Aurora will understand." Assured Angel.

Connor smiled a weak smile at his father before getting up and going toward the stairs just as the other members of AI arrived back from their patrol.

Connor arrived back from talking to Angel to see Aurora curled up on the couch, her legs tucked up to her chest, her arms crossed and her golden hair fanned around her face though she shivered since she was only wearing a shirt and underwear.

Connor put down her bag that he'd got from the bathroom on his way up not far from the couch she was sleeping on, covered her with a soft tartan blanket and kissed her forehead before leaving her to sleep. He just didn't know how he was supposed to explain to Aurora why he was taking her to Cleveland and why he couldn't stay there with her despite how much he wanted to.

He'd become surprisingly attached to the needy girl in the few hours that he'd known her but in a way he was glad his father had told Buffy Connor could take Aurora to Cleveland because he didn't want to say good-bye so soon after meeting her. Maybe spending a month with her as they made their way there…he could learn more about her and persuade himself to do the right thing by staying with her there in Cleveland.

He walked into his room and sat on the end of his bed, rubbing his eyes when he heard someone standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

"Aurora what's wrong?" asked Connor noticing the blonde girl had wrapped the blanket he'd covered her with around herself so her body was completely covered…only her head stuck out of a gap where the blanket's sides crossed at her neck.

"Sorry Connor… I didn't mean to disturb you." Said Aurora biting her lip and turning away to go back into the lounge.

"You weren't… are you ok?" asked Connor as she stopped in the doorway and turned around to look at him again.

"I don't like being in a separate room when I know there is someone else here…would it be ok if I sleep in here with you?" asked Aurora timidly.

"Of course." Smiled Connor.

Aurora smiled and lay on the bed, still wrapped in the blanket, her head rested on the pillow.

Connor lay on the other side of the bed after getting changed, he could hear her breathing steadily behind him the blanket covering her stroking the back of his neck.

"Connor?" whispered Aurora.

"Um?" asked Connor as his eyes began to droop.

"Can you please hold me?" whispered Aurora, her voice shaking with uncertainty.

Connor didn't say anything but rolled over on his other side so his chest leaned against her back and put his arm over her blanket covered form's waist.

He felt Aurora back herself up so her head rested under his chin, her hand slipped into his and he could hear her heart rate increase the contact of his skin against hers.

Connor closed his eyes as he took in the smell of her hair, which smelt of the night and faintly of Jasmine and lavender shampoo.

He felt her squeeze his hand and lightly kissed the top of her head before he fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Connor woke the next day to find Aurora gone, the blanket she'd been wrapped in before remained as the only reminder she'd been there.

He got changed into a jumper and jeans and walked into the lounge to see Aurora dressed in a pair of his jeans that seemed too loose around her slim waist and a singlet, her blonde hair pulled back into a messy ponytail as she stood near the washing machine watching her clothes.

"Aura what are you wearing?" asked Connor.

"Oh I hope you don't mind but your dad needed his shirt and all my clothes are still dirty. I doubted you wanted me walking around here naked so I put on the first things I saw in your closet." Said Aurora turning around to face him, nearly making Connor's jaw drop at how beautiful she made his clothes look on her.

"Its OK. You had any breakfast?' asked Connor, recovering as Aurora turned back to the washing machine.

"Not really, just a few pieces of toast and a glass of water. I'm not usually so hungry in the morning." Shrugged the blonde female as Connor walked into the small kitchen.

"Me neither to be honest. But I'd better have something or else my dad'll shove some of his cooking down my throat." Said Connor, loud enough so she could hear as he went to the fridge.

He made and ate a small fruit salad and walked back to where Aurora was stood putting all her washing in a washing basket.

"Um Connor where's the dryer?" asked Aurora as she piled the rest of her wet clothes into the basket.

"I don't have one up here, there is one in the basement though. I'll show you it in a minute." Said Connor as he slipped his feet into his boots.

Aurora picked up the basket and followed Connors lead down the stairs to the lobby.

When the two arrived and saw the whole of the AI gang sat around the table in the middle of the lobby researching. Or at least they were until they saw the two teenagers.

"Connor…didn't know you were the type to bring home a girl and not introduce her to us." Said Cordelia, which got her a glare from Angel.

Connor looked at Aurora who was shivering at being watched and put his arm reassuringly around her waist.

"Guys this is Aurora…Aura this is Gunn, Cordelia, Fred, Lorne, Wesley and of course you know my dad." Said Connor.

"Hi." Smiled Aurora weakly and Connor led her toward the stairs to the basement ignoring the rest of his 'family's' stares.

" You OK Aura? I didn't know they were here they usually don't turn up until after midday after a night of Patrolling." Said Connor leading her down the stairs to the basement.

"I'm fine…it's just been a while since I've been around so many people." Smiled Aurora Weakly as they arrived at the bottom.

Connor directed her to where the dryer was sat and left her to it while he looked around the basement. There he saw the old cage his father's alter ego had taken up residence when Angel had lost his soul. Along with a cabinet containing weapons and while much of Wesley's watcher stuff including several Watchers' journals and other books he'd been issued with during his term as watcher were in three trunks stacked in a corner.

Connor turned around to see Aurora sitting on the upturned washing basket against the wall watching him, though her gaze quickly moved to the dryer when she saw him looking at her.

Connor approached her and stood, leaning against the wall not far from where she was sat. He watched her bit her lip under his gaze as if she was nervous though he doesn't understand why…they were closer than this the night before.

Aurora played with her hands as though she wanted to keep herself looking anywhere but at him.

Soon the dryer stopped and Aurora gratefully got to her feet and picked up the basket before putting all the clothes from the machine into the basket.

Connor let her go up the stairs first and took a glance around the room before following the blonde girl's lead up the stairs.

The two appeared in the lobby to see everyone had gone except for Wesley and Angel the latter of who was deeply entranced in the book he was reading. Connor bit his lip as he looked at the ex watcher…he had to ask the man some questions about how slayers were trained.

"Go on up Aura, I'll be up in sec." Said Connor with a smile at the blonde.

"Ok don't be too long." Said Aurora as she walked up the stairs barely waiting for his reply.

"Dad you want a cup of blood or something?" asked Connor taking the only tactic he could think of at that moment.

"Yeah some blood would be nice Connor." Said Angel not looking up from the book.

"Wes you want anything?" asked Connor tilting his head toward the kitchen at the ex watcher.

Wesley seemed to get the gist because he nodded silently at the teenager before speaking.

"Yes I think I'll have a cup of tea." Said Wesley getting to his feet before following Connor's lead into the kitchen, shutting the door behind him.

"So what's up Connor?" asked Wesley.

"Wes, what do you know about the process used to train Slayers?" asked Connor as he went to the fridge and picked a bag of blood out for his father.

"Enough why? What's going on?" asked Wesley as he pulled out two mugs one for himself and the other for Angel's blood.

"Well Dad and Buffy seem to think that Aurora is a potential slayer and they want me to take her to Cleveland to be trained." Said Connor pouring the blood into the mug.

"Really? Because Aurora doesn't seem the type to me." Said Wesley as he put water in the kettle and turning it on.

"That's what I said but dad gave me this crap about how the training makes the slayer not the person they are." Said Connor.

"I suppose he's right when he uses that logic. But still the poor girl will be terrified. I mean she was scared out of her wits meeting us, she'll probably be worse meeting the other potentials, Buffy and the scoobies." Said Wesley.

"So what should I do?" asked Connor.

"Well stay with her until she is settled in is really the only thing you can do if Angel won't let you stay with her. Make sure she is acquainted with other Potentials that way she will slowly gather her confidence." Said Wesley putting a tea bag in his cup as the kettle boiled.

"I haven't got any other choice do I?" sighed Connor when he heard his father yell fro him from the Lobby as he put the blood in the microwave, "Yeah I'm coming dad!"

"It'll be OK Connor." Assured Wesley as He poured water into the mug and watched the tea slowly work its way into the water.

"I hope so." Said Connor as the microwave beeped and he pulled the mug out.

"If you need to talk about this anymore my office is always open." Assured the Ex watcher before the teenager left the kitchen to give his father his blood.

"Thanks Connor. Have you decided when your taking Aurora to Cleveland?" asked Angel sipping the blood, careful not to scald the inside of his mouth.

"Maybe tomorrow. I've still as of yet not got around to telling her." Said Connor.

"Well avoiding it will only make telling her harder Connor. You need to tell her soon." Said Angel.

"I know and I will. I'd better get back up there before she does a runner." Said Connor before he walked up the stairs.

He arrived in the lounge to see Aurora rocking back and forth on the couch looking really freaked out, a knife in front of her.

"Aura, Aura what happened?" asked Connor slowly approaching her when he saw blood on the knife.

He looked up into her eyes and Aurora began to sob, though her face looked fine he didn't know how the blood had got on the knife until he saw her hands with deep bloody cuts around the wrists as if she had been trying to chop of her hands, blood dripping down her arms.

"Aura, what happened to your wrists?" asked Connor reaching for her hands, which caused Aurora to moved away from him whimpering with pain.

"Aura…. What's wrong? Why did you do that?" asked Connor his heart aching with concern as he crouched down in front of her.

Aurora continued to merely sob with pain and humiliation and Connor didn't know what to do in order to stop her crying.

He got to his feet and went to the phone that was connected to the phone down in the lobby so he could call his dad.

"Hello Dad?" said Connor his gaze pinned on Aurora who was rocking back and forth.

"No this Wesley. Connor, what's wrong?" asked the ex watcher able to interpret the tone in the teenager's voice to mean something was wrong.

"Can you and Dad come up here? Bring some bandages, something's wrong with Aurora." Said Connor.

"We'll be right up." Said Wesley before he hung up, Connor putting down his phone before crouching back in front of the hysterically blonde female.

He wanted to hug her, to reassure her that everything would be OK but he really had no idea what had caused Aurora to do what she had.

Soon Wesley and Angel appeared and Wesley immediately began to bandage Aurora's Wrists while Angel picked up the knife, ignoring the tempting smell of blood, to wash it in the sink.

"Do you know why she did this Connor?" asked Angel looking at his son who had been watching the blonde girl try and stop Wesley from bandaging her wrists.

"No idea. I just came up here and there she was rocking back and forth with the knife in front of her with blood on it." Said Connor biting his lip.

"Too strong, hands dangerous." Whispered Aurora flinching as Wesley tied the bandages on her left and right hand in place.

"Aura, what do you mean?" asked Connor sitting down beside her.

"Hands hurt people, hands rip doors off hinges," murmured Aurora as she leaned her head on Connor's shoulder, letting the male wrap his arm around her waist and pull her into a hug.

Connor exchanged worried glances with his father and Wesley as the blonde girl began to sob into his shoulder.

"Ssshhh Aura, its ok." Assured Connor stroking the girl's hair, kissing her forehead.

Connor watched his father and Wesley leave as he sat the girl in his lap gently rocking her as she sobbed, he didn't know what else to do.

The only other women he'd had to put up with in this kind of mood was Cordelia but to calm her down all you had to do was give her a tub of ice cream and a bar of chocolate and she'd be good.

But with Aurora he doubted somehow she was the type that would work for so instead he continued to rock her and kissing her forehead until she finally tired herself out soon falling asleep in his lap, her head rested against his chest, her hands clutched to her chest.

Connor picked her and moved her to his bed before leaving her to sleep off her pain and sorrow.

He had a strong suspicion he needed to do a bit more research on the position of slayer, maybe there was a way he could help Aurora through it before leaving her in Cleveland.

He checked that the girl was sleeping peacefully before going down stairs to ask Wesley for some books on slayers when he saw the ex watcher and his father were way ahead of him on the research front.

"Find anything useful?" asked Connor watching his father look up at his son's presence.

"Not as of yet…maybe we should contact Giles…Maybe he knows the explanation for Aurora's behavior." Said Wesley taking at look at his boss.

"No we can't let Giles know…if Giles knows then Buffy will too and there is no doubt in my mind that she will blame Aurora's break down on me or Connor." Said Angel.

"Maybe I should begin taking her to Cleveland tomorrow? Maybe she's getting stressed by all the other people here…" shrugged Connor looking at Wesley.

"Possibly. However I don't know if traveling while she is in that sort of state is a good idea…anything could happen and if something does you would have to deal with it alone Connor. Do you think you could handle that?" asked Wesley.

Connor felt his father's gaze on his face silently asking the same question.

"I'm sure I can handle It. " assured the teenager when he heard the sound of footsteps coming down to the lobby.


	6. Chapter 6

He looked up and saw Aurora, wringing her injured wrists as she looked around, her gaze soon fell on him and a small smile came across the blonde's face.

"Hey Aura, I thought you were getting some sleep." Said Connor as he approached the younger girl.

"I was, but my bandages were itching…" said Aurora scratching her bandages as If to back up her excuse.

"Let's go clean them up then. Dad can you and Wesley keep researching let me know if you find anything." Said Connor as he put his arm around Aurora's waist.

Angel nodded as Wesley picked up another book and began to flick through the pages.

"Come on Aura, let's go take a look at those cuts." Said Connor leading her up the stairs.

When they reached the second floor, Connor sat Aurora on the couch and got some water and cotton buds before sitting beside her.

He took off the bandages and saw the cuts were scabbed over and beginning to turn into scars, maybe the slayer healing had taken over.

"Whoa, that was fast." Whispered Aurora watching Connor look the cuts over.

"Aura, I have to tell you something." Said Connor taking her hands in his avoiding the cuts around her wrists that were slowly turning into scars, though it still caused a hiss to escape from the girl's lips.

"What is it Connor? Is something wrong?" asked Aurora biting her lip as though she was scared of what he was going to say next.

"Aura, I need to take you to Cleveland, my dad has a friend he wants you to meet there." Said Connor though inside he was flinching about the lie he had just told her.

He watched her bit her lip, the fright of a small child appearing in her eyes as though not sure whether or not to believe him. Not that he could really blame her.

"Aura, you don't have to come If you don't want to…I can get my dad to call his friend back…" began Connor when he saw the smile on her face.

"No, Its OK Connor, I trust you." Smiled Aurora, her hand stroking his cheek lightly.

"So you feel like going as soon as possible?" asked Connor with a smile.

"Um if you mean now…. not really…. if you mean tomorrow…yeah…. I suppose." Smiled Aurora.

"Ok tomorrow it is…I'll start packing now. You want me to pack your stuff?" asked Connor kissing her cheek as he got up and went into his bedroom.

"Please." Said Aurora wringing her wrists, flinching as the scratches began to sink into scars.

Connor soon appeared to see Aurora biting her lip, her gaze on her wrists.

"Aura are you ok?" asked Connor when he noticed the cuts had faded into scars that surrounded her wrists.

"Hey aura, its ok…. They're just turning into scars." assured Connor as he sat down beside her and took her hands in his.

He could see the fear in the younger girl's blue eyes and gently kissed the back of each hand, a wistful smile appearing on Aurora's face.

"I'm ok now Connor. I was just a little freaked out." Assured Aurora.

"I think we should start to Cleveland today…we'll just take it slowly ok? We're in no rush." Assured Connor at the worried look on her face.

"I suppose. I'll go get changed, you'll no doubt be needing this outfit," Said Aurora getting up.

"No you keep it. It looks better on you anyway." Assured Connor.

"Thanks…I'll just go have a shower." Said Aurora with a smile.

"I'll go let dad know we're going to go…I'll be back soon." Assured Connor, watching the blonde disappear into the bathroom before he walked down to the lobby.

Cordelia was sat in Angel's lap helping him find a demon she'd seen in a recent vision in the demon encyclopedia, Fred and Gunn were using the computer while Wesley was heard murmuring in his office.

"Um Dad, Aurora and me are going to start the trip to Cleveland…can I borrow your car?" asked Connor.

"Sorry no can do…Wes might give you his bike though…. go and ask him." Said Angel.

Connor shrugged and knocked on the door to Wesley's office hearing a distracted voice calling 'come in.'

"Hey Wes, can Aura and me borrow your bike to go to Cleveland?" asked Connor leaning against the doorway.

"Sure. But I'll want it back in one piece." Sighed Wesley throwing the youth the keys.

Connor nodded silently and went back into the lobby.

He was about to go up the stairs when he heard two objects being thrown in his directions. Only with the reflexes of a vampire he managed to catch the two, looking at them questioningly before moving his gaze to his father.

The two objects Angel had given him were a credit card and a cell phone, which surprised the youth; the vampire had always been stingy with money, not even giving Cordelia a decent amount to buy a pair of designer shoes.

"Well I can't have you living out on the streets between Arizona and Ohio now can I? Make sure you keep the cell phone on at all times in case we need to call you and make sure you inform us if Aura tries to chop off her hands again. OK?" asked Angel watching his son put both objects along with Wesley's keys into the pocket of his jeans.

"OK…can I go now? If we want to make phoenix by sundown we need to get a move on." Said Connor edging toward the stairs.

"Sure…just go." Sighed Angel.

Connor ran up the stairs to his 'apartment' and saw aurora sat by her packed bag dressed in a simple pair of baggy jeans, a gray woolen top that slid off her left shoulder showing him she was still wearing his singlet. Her hair was up in a bun and stray pieces of hair fell like little ringlets either side of her face, making her look angelic and yet determined at the same time.

"Ready to go Aura?" asked Connor.

Aurora smiled and picked up her backpack that she slipped on as she turned around to face him


End file.
